Perry draws a line on the sand for Bill White. No tax returns, no debate

Well, it looks like we'll know in less than two weeks whether Republican Gov. Rick Perry and his Democratic challenger Bill White will debate at least once before the Nov. 2 general election.

Perry's campaign has just drawn a line on the sand, setting a Sept. 15 deadline for the former Houston mayor to release his income tax returns for the years he served as deputy secretary of energy in the Clinton administration and for the time he was chairman of the Texas Democratic Party.

If White does not release his taxes for those years before the deadline the Perry campaign has set there will be no debate, the Perry camp has notified reporters in a press release.

Five of the largest newspapers in the state and the Austin affiliate of PBS have already issued an invitation to both candidates for a televised debate in October. So far, only the White campaign has accepted.

The Perry campaign has been saying for six months, since White won his party's nomination, that he needs to release the tax returns for all the years he has held a public office, like the governor has. But White, who so far has released the returns for the six years he was mayor of Houston, has said that all that information is public and Perry has been using the demand as a way to duck a debate.

The White campaign is likely to respond to Perry's ultimatum soon. And though it is too soon to say what will ultimately happen, if the standoff continues, expect growing pressure, particularly from newspaper editorial boards, on both candidates to put this behind them and agree to at least one televised debate.